So much of publishing can be traced back to unshakeable perseverance. Successful writers are those who learn from rejection and keep submitting.
As 2022 comes to a close, I have been reflecting on my successes and shortcomings. Each year I make a goal to double my literary magazine acceptances. This year, however, I was one short.
It’s easy to beat ourselves up over the small things. The truth of the fact is that while I didn’t fully double my publications this year, I focused my writing efforts more on querying and novel drafting. My overall ratio for submissions versus acceptances was much higher than in previous years.
Any progress is still progress.
Below I will share my 2022 writing stats and then I have a story for any writers who may be reviewing their year’s progress a little dismally.
78 Submissions🖋️
21 Still Open ❔
50 Rejections ❌
7 Accepted ✅
When you look at the numbers, I averaged one acceptance for every seven submissions I sent out. That’s not bad! I expect of the 21 still under consideration that many will end in rejection, but perhaps there will be a few more acceptances as well.
Why is this important?
Because two years ago when I was starting out as a brand new writer, I didn’t know if I’d ever get a single acceptance.
Maybe some of you are in a similar position. Maybe you’ve researched and rewritten and submitted as much as you think you possibly can.
Keep going anyway.
It sounds trite, I know. But it’s the truth. Writers who get published are the writers who persist.
It took me nearly six months before I got my first acceptance. That literary magazine took a chance on me and gave a platform for my words, something that no one else had ever done before. It ignited something in me and I’ve never looked back since, despite the fact that this industry is riddled with “no’s”.
One of my favorite poems I’ve ever published was rejected 43 times before it was given a home. Imagine if I had given up after the tenth, twentieth, or forty-third rejection.
Writing is notoriously subjective. It’s part of what makes writing so wonderful. I’m a firm believer that there is a place for every type of writer, a home for every person’s words.
Sometimes the trick is just searching for long enough.
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